It's not every day you hear of a thief returning their spoils. Stories of remorseful wrongdoers are rare. Typically, stolen goods are either gone for good or retrieved under duress. The thief gets their day in court, leaving hurt feelings and frayed nerves in their wake.
What could have mirrored past misdeeds now offers a beacon of hope for crypto aficionados. Although the motive behind the hacker’s decision to give back some of the million-dollar Ethereum Classic loot remains unclear, it sends a signal that some might reconsider their actions and seek to mend their ways. hacker who allegedly stole over It would be a welcome change to say the same for past infamous cases. In Japan, two major crypto breaches occurred about four years apart, both ranking as the largest in the digital currency world, with over a billion dollars still missing. Many were deprived of what was rightfully theirs, and the damage remains.
The Ethereum Classic episode doesn’t rival the scale of the Mt. Gox or Coincheck disasters. Still, seeing wrongs righted gives crypto fans fresh optimism. While not all is rosy (a million dollars in Ethereum Classic is still unaccounted for), some see the move as a ‘white hat’ act, shedding light on the need for better blockchain security. Mt. Gox and Coincheck The exchange that fell victim, Gate.io, shared their thoughts:
A Small, Yet Noticeable Move Ahead
“The motives are still uncertain. If the attacker wasn’t in it for money, they might have been a ‘white hat’ hacker aiming to warn folks about blockchain consensus and hashing power security risks.”
The heist was executed through a 51% attack on the Ethereum Classic blockchain. Such assaults allow hackers to rearrange blockchains, providing an opening to commandeer a network’s transaction authority. At the moment, more than 100 blocks on the ETC blockchain had undergone reorganization.
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If invaders seize over half of the network’s power during these operations, they gain the ability to manipulate transactions as they please, even reversing them after confirmation — a method known as 'double spending'.
“In light of the recent dip in blockchain funding, the network’s mining strength is down. The 51% effect on ETC is stark and may escalate as attack costs decrease.”
Although a segment of the funds has returned, Ethereum Classic's blockchain still faces risks. A proactive approach has been taken for client security enhancement, with these measures announced: “Gate.io increased ETC confirmation to 4,000 steps and set up stringent 51% checks to strengthen defense. We urge other ETC platforms to also implement measures to safeguard their traders from potential blockchain rollbacks and restructurings.”
Nick Marinoff has navigated the cryptocurrency landscape since 2014. His roles have included being lead writer and news editor for Money & Tech, handling PR for Game Credits, and senior writing stints at Bitcoinist and News BTC.
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